


Body Switch

by Boxenofdonuts



Series: Body Switch [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Eren is cute and protective, Happy Hanji, How Do I Tag, M/M, OH snap, Originally on FanFiction.net, Switching of the bodies, ereri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-07
Updated: 2014-01-01
Packaged: 2018-01-03 22:38:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 13
Words: 12,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1073868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boxenofdonuts/pseuds/Boxenofdonuts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hanji takes Eren in (unwillingly) for experiments, and he ends up switching bodies with...?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Hanji. Experiments. Hanji and experiments.

Two things that DO NOT belong together.

Said crazy titan-loving scientist had taken time out of her 'busy schedule' just for Eren. 'Just for Eren' means 'for her crazy experiments'.

Of which she wanted him to be a part of currently.

Said green-eyed teen stared at Hanji, a flash of terror reflecting off of his irises as she neared him menacingly with sedative.

"Now now, Eren, this won't hurt a bit." She murmured with a low voice and a crazy smile, before quickly--yet carefully--piercing the tan skin of his arm with the needle.

Eren gave a cry of protest, his vision blurring nearly right after as Hanji giggled. "This will be perfect~!"

-Timeskip? Yes, Timeskip.-  
When Eren woke up, he reached up to rub the sleep from his heavy eyes. They never reached, though, for his hands were shackled, the chains clanking loudly as they pulled his arms back. Eren gave a yelp of surprise before observing the area around him.  
"What happened...?" He blinked a bit to get rid of the remaining blurriness from his eyes before it dawned on him.  
"Hanji." He gave a groan, and reached up to pinch the bride of his nose before yet again being held back by the shackles.

'Speaking of whom, where is she--' Eren didn't even get to finish the thought before Hanji burst in with a bright smile and flushed cheeks.  
"Are you awake yet? GREAT! Let's get started!" Hanji said in a rush, making it painfully obvious to the green-eyed boy that she was really excited about this experiment.  
"Wait, Hanji, wh-."

"You see, Eren, I have come up with the perfect idea! See, I figured something out with this metal, and it's storming like a b!tch out there, and I want to see what would happen if you got shocked by lightning! What if it turns you? Isn't there always lightning when you turn?" Hanji interrupted him once again, though verbally, and burst out with as much excitement as a dog with a well-cooked steak.  
Eren looked hesitant to comply without struggle. He pulled at the shackles once more, discovering some around his ankles as well, before giving a sigh. "Is this safe though..?"  
"Your titan abilities will heal you if anything goes wrong, now just stay still..." Hanji proceeded to hook up a cluster of wires to the poor boy, who only responded by struggling a bit, and observing the wires with his eyes. There was obviously no clue to him what they would do, and what they were.  
  
When she was finished, she put a metal hat on him. He looked up as much as he could at the hat, before she opened a lever that somehow magically opened the ceiling.  
"What the...?" Eren realized that he will never, ever be able to predict Hanji's actions, words, and now even her workspace and ideas.

"Just wait for it..!" Hanji stepped back, a bright smile on her face.  
Just then, a certain lacking-in-height-male walked in, mumbling in an annoyed tone. "Hey, four-eyes, where's Jaeger? He's supposed to be cleaning, and he did a sh!tty job on the room I-"

Just then, lightning struck. It was bright, brighter than Hanji was expecting. She gave a cry-somewhere between excited, happy, or in shock-before looking to see the results after recovering.

Her smile faded as her eyes traveled to Levi, who had crumpled to the floor. "What... what happened..?" She began to question herself, before Eren gave a grumble from the table.

"The h3ll...? How did I end up here?" He groaned with the same annoyed tone heard previously, but... wasn't that from Levi?  
Hanji believed she needed her ears swabbed, that she was just hearing things. But she was once again shocked.  
"Why am I strapped to a table? What did you f#ck up this time, four-eyes?" Eren shot her a deadly look. At least, she was hoping it was Eren.  
She then looked over at Levi's crumpled form, which groaned and slowly began to sit up, before speaking in an innocent tone. (As innocent as Levi can sound.)  
"Hanji.. what happened to me..?" Levi slowly stood up, a fearful look in his eyes. "Why am I so short?"  
And it was then that Hanji realized that Levi and Eren switched bodies.  
She gave a scream of excitement. "THIS IS THE BEST EXPERIMENT YET!" Before fist pumping the air, earning an annoyed look from one, and a bewildered one from the other.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi doesn't appreciate the damage done here.

Levi was angry. No, that's not it.... furious? Closer, but no.

Oh right. Levi was downright pissed.

He couldn't, for the life of him, figure out how it happened, exactly. All Levi remembered before the 'incident' was that he was, yet again, pissed at a certain titan shifter for doing a half-@$$ed job at cleaning one of the rooms. Not to mention he ran off afterward.

Or so Levi assumed. 

It turned out that Hanji took Eren away for experiments, and when he'd found him, he was strapped to a table, and--was the roof open? What the f- 

As Levi mentally cursed, Hanji had ran over to him, in her state of excitement, to take off the wires that were stuck to him, as well as a metal hat. 

"Tch." He only gave, referring to the situation. He hurt all over like, and he was extremely uncomfortable, and for some reason, really warm. He didn't mind that, though; the only thing that struck him as odd, though, was how weird his voice sounded. He shook it off. 

Hanji's experiments never turned out in Levi's favor. Or anyone else's for that matter.

Once he was free, rubbing his wrists and trying to comprehend what nonsense she was spouting out previously, he saw something-or someone-moving to stand up properly, using the door frame to support their petite stature after speaking to Hanji. Was he speaking to Hanji before?

Wait... the voice sounded awfully familiar.

The male ran a hand through his hair before looking over at Levi, before silver eyes widened in a state of shock. Well, as shocked as Levi's facial expressions could manage; scowling was all it seemed to be used to, when not in a state of sheer apathy.

Green eyes widened as Levi realized. 'That's... me.'

The same thing had obviously occurred to other Levi, whom Levi deducted as Eren. 

There was a moment of awkward silence between the three of them, before Hanji spoke spontaneously. "THIS IS PERFECT."

Levi winced at her volume, before speaking again. "What the h3ll did you do?!" He yelled with a voice that wasn't even his.

Eren seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he in turn spoke with Levi's voice, and a tone that wasn't familiar. "Hanji, what happened to me?" He slowly stood up, grasping his head. Eren winced in pain as he surveyed his body. "I hurt all over and... wow, since when did I wear a cravat? It looks kind of... odd..." 

At this, Levi's expression hardened as much as one could get it to-being Eren-before audibly clearing his throat. This earned a sheepish look from Eren, but not before he looked on at the other, utter confusion apparent on features that weren't even his own. "S..sorry, Corporal."

"Hm." Levi responded, before the two stared a moment longer, and turning their gazes to Hanji.

The two seemed to be thinking the same thing, for Eren spoke first, menacingly (which was easy when he was Levi,) "So... Hanji.." He trailed off, an angry tone to his voice.

Levi caught onto this, speaking as though this had been planned out. He didn't let it show on the tanned features, but he was surprised that he and the other were thinking the same thing. "How on earth are you going to fix this...?" 

Hanji stared at them for a moment, before giving a crazy grin, and sprinting out of the room.

The two audibly sighed simultaneously. Sharing a slightly bewildered expression, Eren let out a peal of laughter, which tore through the tense air. Whatever caused them to feel uncomfortable had dissipated. To this, Levi had a ghost of a smile on his face.  
Just a ghost.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three try to grasp the situation at hand. Words are said, and height is made fun of.

Eren ran a hand through his hair-pausing slightly to feel how soft Levi's hair was, despite how it looked-and shook his head. 

That's just weird.

He looked over at Levi, who was currently struggling to get a hold of reality once again, as he was in Eren's body. Eren made a face when he realized how wrong that sounded in his mind. He tore himself away from the train of thought and watched as Levi stood up.

Eren didn't know it, but Levi absolutely enjoyed the view. Not of himself watching his current form..

The height.

Levi nearly smiled, but refrained from doing so. Eren tilted his head to the side, and shot a questioning look to Levi. 

This caused the older to shiver-he never imagined himself staring at... well, himself. Not to mention all the facial expressions; Eren made as many facial expressions on Levi's face as it would take Levi so show in about 2 years. This slightly surprised Levi, for every time he's looked in the mirror, he'd always show the same, boring, apathetic expression because he never really cared about most things. Other than killing titans and helping humanity.

And those occasional times when a brat can't clean for his life. No, Levi is not pointing fingers at anyone. Merely being specific in who he means by brat. 

The silence was broken once again as Eren spoke again. "Hey... where do you think Hanji went?" The older replied by simply shrugging his shoulders with an annoyed movement. He was shocked, to say in the least. Of anything he could have expected from anyone, especially Hanji, he would have never expected that someone would be able to switch his body with someone else.

The originally-raven would be honest if anyone would ask. He never even considered the idea for a fraction of a second. No, more like, it never ran across his mind. He has other things he needs to deal with, and experiments shouldn't be on his 'to do' list.

Though, Hanji has a way of making someone do something that isn't in their league. It's her forte. 

Almost as if on cue, the woman who caused this whole mess ran back in, a grin on her face. 'Speak-- no, think of the devil and he'll... well, she'll appear.' He thought dismally. 

Even though the grin was something he saw often, whether he had a say in it or not, something told Levi that she had hatched a plan while she went... wherever she went.

"So?" Questioned Eren, who was now sitting cross legged on the floor once more. Levi made a face at this. The floor was probably dirty, and Levi didn't want Eren to get his body dirty, because some of the soldiers could fight like professionals yet couldn't sweep a floor for their lives--.

No, Levi, he reprimanded himself, don't worry about it until we get out of this mess (no pun intended).

Though, the thought remained at the back of his mind, practically poking his brain and irritating him. 

Hanji finally replied, after what seemed like forever, taking her sweet time to find the right words to say all the while fidgeting with her thumbs.

"Well... I think the best way to do this is have you two stay in each other's bodies until I can come up with something that most likely will not kill you or hurt you." Hanji seemed to like this idea.

Hanji seemed to be the only one to like this idea, despite how she explained how it was the only way, especially since it would avoid the two getting shocked again. Also, there was no telling if it would actually work this time; they switched by a matter of chance.

And the chances were most likely extremely low, at that.

After what seemed like--yet again--ages of silence, Eren screamed at the top of his lungs (something you don't wanna hear coming from Levi's body): "I DON'T WANNA BE SHORT THOUGH!"

Someone was going to die tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin. xD) Levi dreams about Eren's past, and a slight bit of new-found admiration is held for the boy.

After Hanji's little 'experiment' had gone wrong, Levi and Eren hit the hay. (Not literally.) 

They were both exhausted from previous cleaning, (whether Eren had done a sucky job or not), not to mention they were still trying to process the reality of the situation. The two never thought they would see the day. 

Something strange happened, though. 

While Levi was sleeping, he dreamed of a little green-eyed boy, who was bright, had a strong will, and an undying admiration for the Recon Corps. 

It took him a little while to realize what he was seeing was not simply a dream, but Eren's memories. Is this what he dreamed of every night? Or was Eren's body forcing the dreams onto him?

He looked on at a scene in which Eren was accompanying a man, whom Levi assumed was Eren's father, out somewhere. A red flash of cloth wrapped around Eren's neck piqued his interest as he realized he's seen it before.

Levi watched disdainfully as he saw the scene of the murder of two people. The man told Eren to wait for him at the bottom of the hill, and from the look on Eren's face, Levi wasn't sure what the kid was going to do. 

It wasn't an expression of being petrified, more like...

Deciding on something, maybe... a life or death situation?

Levi could have bet on his life that Eren wasn't going to obey his father's orders, as he watched Eren sneak into the house after his father had gone of to find the soldiers, and pulled a knife from one of the drawers. It was in that moment that Levi recalled what happened in the courtroom. 

The man stated that Mikasa and Eren had killed three men when they were young.

He looked on, even more interested than before, and watched as Eren followed steps to a cabin in the woods, opened the door, and managed to make fake tears well up in his eyes as he stated he was lost.

Levi couldn't look away as he watched Eren stabbing the first man, and impaling the other one, who'd gathered a cleaver to attack. The brunette only screamed about how they deserved it, and every second of it shocked Levi.

Eren had cut the bonds of the girl that was on the floor the whole time, staring in surprise as the other stabbed and killed two men mercilessly.  
'Then again, the men didn't deserve it.' He mused to himself. Eren assured Mikasa that she would be safe, and Levi could see the slight fear in her eyes as she realized that there were three men.

A third man came in, taking in the scene. Eren realized what was going to happen, Levi could tell by the expression on his face now, but it was a little too late as the man kicked him away and held him in the air by his neck, choking him.  
Levi had covered his ears and closed his eyes, not questioning once how he'd done it. When he opened his eyes, he was outside, with them. Mikasa must have killed the third man, he deducted as he stared. 

Eren's father, Grisha, Levi thought his name was, reprimanded Eren for disobeying. Mikasa looked broken, he realized, as she stated that she was cold, and didn't have anywhere to go to.

The younger brunette wrapped his scarf around her messily, saying something about it being warm. Levi snorted out how bad his skills were then, but had to remind himself that Eren was just a kid at the time.

Tugging on her sleeve, and telling her that they were going to their house, he watched as tears welled up in her eyes.

It seemed like an eternity for Levi, onlooking from happy days of running around and playing to reading forbidden books and getting into fights to protect his friend, Armin Arlert, Levi remembered.

Then, he had seen everything that had happened to Eren that day. The day the Colossal Titan created a hole in the wall.

He felt a twinge of pity and sadness for the boy as he witnessed Eren's reaction to the wall being broken down.

Levi nearly let out a small cry when Eren's mother was eaten by the titan, but he'll never tell anyone that. Not a single soul.

'Ah, so that's how it is,' Levi mused to himself darkly. 'This kid's seen h3ll.'

But.

What sparked something in Levi was when he witnessed the spark of determination in Eren, on the boat. Levi was probably out evacuating people, but mainly killing titans.  
Now, Levi felt a tad bit of admiration for the boy now that he's seen what Eren went through, and even more for the fact that Eren's will hadn't gone out a single bit. 

He opened his eyes, noticing he was covered in cold sweat. "Gross." 

Levi hadn't forgotten about the dream, though, as he put a hand on his forehead, images flashing through his mind of what Eren had seen. 

Maybe, just maybe, Eren dreamed about his past too?  
Levi sure hoped not. He cringed at the thought of Eren seeing what he'd been through in his past, before he met Erwin.  
The only thing he could do was pray that Eren didn't.


	5. Chapter 5

Eren woke up from a dreamless sleep, staring at his ceiling. He took the time to wonder to himself why on earth he felt... different.

Oh right. Hanji.

He put a hand on the face that wasn't his. He wasn't used to... well, not dreaming. That, and being Levi. 

'His hands are really small. And dainty. And very soft. Wow.' The first thought that was spelled out in his mind. He didn't feel very intelligent going about it, but there wasn't really anything intelligent about rambling about someone else's feminine hands.

The originally-brunette wondered if Levi wanted to keep the body switch a secret, and somehow manage to not get caught, or tell everyone what was going on so they would understand. 

Eren was fine with anything Levi would thing; Levi is the Lance Corporal, so his decisions are not made irrationally.

Or so Eren was pretty sure. He then felt a tad bad about leaving Levi to make the decision on his own and going with whatever he thought was best. He had to remind himself that Levi was normally in charge of most decisions with his team. 

He slowly sat up, inhaling audibly and exhaling the same. He got out of bed to take a bath and change, for he knew Levi would end his life if he got his body dirty. 

No matter what, though, Eren did NOT look down after stripping, taking a bath, and putting on fresh clothes which Hanji left for the two of them, so Levi wouldn't be wearing under-sized clothing and Eren over-sized. 

Eren nearly put his pants on backwards. 

He mentally cursed at himself as he couldn't find the buttons, reaching around the back to find the buttons, accidentally touching Levi's butt as he did so-.

Oh.

'Wow, Levi has a nice bu- NOT GOING THERE.' He mentally reprimanded himself as he stripped off the old pants and putting on the clean ones.

He wondered if Levi was having as hard of a time as Eren was, because Eren was struggling more with putting on clothing that he was fighting titans, and that's saying something.

As he was making his bed, a thought passed through his mind as he did so. 'I wonder if Levi, being a clean-freak, took a bath as well.' 

If so, Levi probably looked, unlike Eren. The thought caused the green-eyed boy to blush, a rare sight to see on Levi's face. 

"We're both guys, so I shouldn't be self-conscious about anything..." He tried to convince himself.

He shook his head after placing the pillows correctly, and made his way out of the room to the dining hall. In all truth, Eren never really thought about romance or love or relationships. All he wanted was revenge for his mother's untimely death, and for the death of everyone who didn't deserve to suffer under the wrath of the titans.

They had absolutely no reason to do what they did, as far as humanity knows. Everything they've done up to now only showed that they killed for pleasure. Eren hated that. People put their lives on the line to protect humanity, when they didn't even need to had the titans actually been reasonable. 

Bristling with anger, the now-raven smoothed his clothing out, getting rid of imaginary wrinkles, as to tear his mind away from the thoughts of the savage beasts. Getting furious about it won't do him any good now; he can only hope to pull off the act of being his own Corporal--and oh God, how does that even work, being a Lance Corporal--and making sure that their cover wasn't blown.

He'd leave it to Levi to hold up his part of the deal.

Eren made sure to keep an apathetic expression on Levi's face, in case anyone suspected anything, and Levi wanted to keep it a secret. 

Everyone else was bustling around, joking, talking, and laughing. Eren scanned the room for Levi, until he realized he would be looking for the wrong person, and found himself.

Scowling for that matter.

He made his way over to him after getting some breakfast, sitting down across from him. Levi looked up with an expression that could kill as he sipped his tea.

They both thought the same thing, but neither would ever learn that they were.

'It's kinda weird seeing yourself while you're in a different body.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY, NOW IT'S (kind of) PICKING UP. :D


	6. Chapter 6

Levi greeted him with a cold expression after sharing the thought. 

"So... uh... how is your day so far, C-corporal?"

Said Corporal grimaced at the sound of his own voice stuttering. "Tch." Was all Eren got as a reply from the other. 

For his life, he resisted letting out a small, 'How eloquent,' to the other male. 

Eren shook off the cold feeling from Levi and changed the subject to the same question he had been previously wondering. "So, are we gonna tell everyone, or...?" 

"We'll leave it up to Hanji to decide; she's the one that got us into this mess in the first place, so she must take responsibility." A cold, straight-forward reply. As expected of the Corporal.

Nonetheless, Eren twitched a little. He didn't particularly enjoy the idea of leaving Hanji to make a decision; it was in these moments that someone else needed to remind him that Hanji was a genius, despite her... odd-ball demeanor. 

In which, Levi did. "She's not completely a moron, you brat. It's best to vest our trust in her, for the time being." He spoke toward Eren's doubtful expression to the idea of the crazy scientist to be in charge of any decisions that could possibly be either of the duo's downfall.

Eren mentally facepalmed as he'd realized that Levi wouldn't put any important decisions on others to decide if he had no clue if they would make the right choice or not. 

And Levi's only hope was that he wouldn't regret it. Eren could tell; he told him something of the sort before. 

Levi's scowl made Eren direct his eyes downward to his food. Levi mentally facepalmed for making the other feel uncomfortable, even more than he should have been, considering their current.. predicament. 

He then decided to brush it off, since it wasn't the worst thing they would have to put up with for a while. 

"HEY, LEVI! EREN!" Hanji's voice suddenly interrupted whatever silence was between the two, but not the rowdiness of the dining hall, and no one seemed to pay any mind to the boisterous woman. 

Levi groaned internally as he'd realized, 'A while wasn't really a while long enough...'

Whatever nonsense she would most likely spout out of her mouth IS the worst thing the two would have to put up with, and as Levi had mentioned, a while wasn't really a while long enough. Not for the both of them.

And it was obvious by the facial expressions they had flashed her that they weren't really willing to put up with anything currently, of which she blantantly ignored.

Or she's immune to Levi's cold expressions, seeing as they had been around each other for more than five years. 

'Curses.' Levi thought, though, made no hint of the though apparent on his face. As usual. 

Eren sighed across from him. "Yes, Hanji?" 

Said woman practically flounced over to their table. "I haven't found anything that could switch you guys back yet, but this could be a good experience for the two of you, since I've decided not to tell anyone about your current situation! Only for learning  
experience." She started blabbering. "Anyway, a weird little thought came across my mind, as I realized.."

She paused for dramatic effect, though the two weren't really interested in what she had to say until after she said it. "Doesn't this whole situation mean that Eren's the Corporal, and Levi can turn into a titan?"

Oh, this was going to be fun for the two of them.

Eren flashed her an odd look, scolding himself for not thinking of that. 'That's right, Eren can't turn into a titan at this point... so what good is he if he doesn't make a good corporal?'

Eren shifted uncomfortably as Levi's currently-green eyes flashed with amusement. 

In all truth, Levi had no idea if he was pleased or upset about being able to turn into a titan, for he never really liked the things, he doesn't know how exactly being a titan works; he only knows how to kill a titan, and get Eren out of his titan form in case  
something goes wrong. 

But this also meant that Levi would be healed of all injuries as soon as he got them, and he seemed very much okay with it.

Though, every time he'll turn into one, it will hurt him either way.

Eren didn't really want to do all the work it would take to be a Corporal, and as Levi had no idea how being a titan worked, Eren doesn't know how to be a Corporal. 

He'd have to ask Levi about it later; he simply face-table'd and groaned audibly. 

'Noooo...' He thought to himself.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is short. And kind of late. I have to edit everything before I put it on here, and I was busy yesterday, so here it is. ouo Thanks for the kudos! Comments are loved~.

For the record, the duo decided to spend their valuable time getting used to foreign bodies. 

Levi, for one, couldn't be happier, and this was a first. He was taller, he was younger, and he could turn into the enemy, which was on their side and more powerful than he was. That little fact much to his dismay on his part. 

Of course, he also wanted to be himself again, because the scowls just didn't looked right on Eren's face. He also hated to soil the view of Eren's bright, determined eyes merely by grimacing all the time--wait no Levi, what are you thinking, stop.

Levi ran a hand through his stark black hair before slipping on and tightening the straps of the 3DMG, making sure they fit tightly and securely in place, but not as much as to cut off his blood flow to his limbs. They were needed. Even though this wasn't his body, that was no excuse not to train. Actually, being some other was a better reason to. 

Whether or not this was someone else's body, he wanted to keep it in good shape.

He also knew that Eren wouldn't dare do anything to ruin Levi in any way, shape, or form, otherwise he would get a face full of Levi-boot when they switch back.

If they switch back. Levi had a feeling it wasn't gonna be anytime soon.

When he got outside, he saw Eren training, though he needed to do a double-take, for he nearly forgot about the current epidemic. 

Eren was swinging through the trees like a pro, though making a few mistakes here and there, showing that the talent had left with the soul Levi's body now contained. 

Levi found himself doing the same thing, and finding it just as easy to use the gear as it was when he was in his original body, so this didn't bother him too much. Even the drastic change in height--Levi found it hard to admit to himself--didn't affect his performance, and that came off as a surprise to the shorter-now taller-man. 

Levi continued to train, pausing for short breaks. He noted Eren sitting on a bench, stretching his legs out to make sure he didn't get any knots. Levi watched as Eren massaged his own thighs, and Levi had to chase away any disturbing thoughts of Eren getting reeeally close and he really should stop. 

"-Ch out too? Levi?" Levi was torn from his thoughts as Eren looked up at Levi with Levi's own face. It was then Levi realized he had wandered over to the other male, involuntarily. 

"What?" Levi replied with an annoyed tone, to hide anything he was thinking about.

"I said, don't you wanna stretch out too? You'll get knots..." Levi 'Tch''d before speaking again. "What do you think I was going to do, join a circus?" 

At this, Eren shut his mouth. He opened it again, simply to shut it.

The two then sat in silence as Levi and Eren both stretched and massaged their limbs.

Eren left Levi with his own thoughts without a word, and that wasn't really a good idea, because Levi's face nearly began to heat up as he tried his very best to chase away any thought that intruded without permission. Instead, his ears were tinged pink.

This didn't go unnoticed by Eren, but sweet, innocent little Eren had no clue as to why the other's ears were pink. Even though those ears were his own.

"Levi, are you okay?" He asked, worry lacing his tone and words. Levi snapped out of his reverie, looking up at the other will a dull, blank I-don't-care expression painted on tanned features. 

"... Yeah, why?" He gathered himself, though, looking composed on the outside as he always did.

"Your ears are pink. Are you feeling okay? Did you get sick?" Levi nearly snorted at Eren's tone, for he sounded like a mother who was babying her child.

"Eren."

"Uh.. Yes? Sorry, sir." Pink dashed across porcelain cheeks as Eren tore his silver gaze away.

"Shut up and get back to training. If I find even a trace of fat or see you slacking off, I will not hesitate to commit a repetition of what happened during your trial. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir!" Eren quickly got to his feet, stumbling a bit due to dizziness, but regained his senses, and ran off to condition.

Levi stood up, and sighed. Looking after the other male, he made his way off into a different direction, the only thing on his mind was the loyal yet determined teenager who'd caught his attention, and somehow wormed his way into the list of those Levi holds  
high respect for.

He couldn't complain, though. A nice feeling always made its way to his chest.. he doesn't know where, but it feel good... to think about the other. 

Maybe he was sick. He should ask Hanji about this.


	8. Chapter 8

Eren had been walking down the hall, taking in his surroundings from this point of view. 'I don't like this, not one bit.' He thought, referring to the height. Eren spotted Jean down the hallway, talking to another one of the soldiers. 

He, in all his stupidity, forgot his current position, and went up to Jean, greeting him with a big smirk and a, "What's up, Horse face?" Jean stared at his Corporal, bewildered, causing Eren to realize: 'Oh God I'm not me I'm Levi.' Eren cleared his throat, before speaking again. In an overly low voice. "Good day to you, brats."

The looks he recieved in response made him break out in a cold sweat.  
He swiftly walked away. The next pair he saw was Connie and Sasha, who were throwing banana peels at each other. Eren came up to them, staring at the scene. Connie and Sasha didn't notice him there for a moment, stopping the battle right then to stare at the Corporal. The two immediately turned to salute him, but when Connie changed his position spontaneously, he ended up slipping on a banana peel.

Connie.

He slipped. 

Connie slipped on a banana peel. 

Eren stared for a moment, before his face turned a bright red from contained laughter. The other two shivered, knowing that a red-faced Corporal probably meant something really bad.

Not long after that, he burst out laughing at the scene. 

The two stared at the laughing Corporal. "You.. you slipped..." Eren had to take a deep breath, for he was doubled over from the laughter. ".. Slipped... on a banana peel! How is that... humanly... possible?!" He had tears streaming down his cheeks from the sight. The other two still looked scared, but hesitantly began laughing as well, and soon, the whole hallway was filled with their laughter. 

Once it died down, Eren realized that he'd just messed up again, so he turned to the other two who were still chuckling and said, "Not a word about this to anyone, or I'll cut your amount of food you recieve in half." He said, trying to be menacing but nearly failing all the while. The two were still chuckling slightly, faces red from laughter, and nodded. Eren nodded as well. "And don't forget to clean these up when you're done."

Connie and Sasha looked at the mess as Eren walked away. He could hear the exasperated groan as they realized they had made a bigger mess than intended. 

Suddenly, two soldiers came down the hallway, screaming and crying. One bumped into Eren, and he turned his gaze down to him. The other seemed to be frightened, and he slowly got to his feet, putting his hands on the shoulders of his Corporal. The soldier did this hesitantly; the Corporal usually hated it when people touched him. "C-corporal Levi, s-something's up w-with Eren!" He cried out, and the other two, who slowed down to make sure their friend was okay, nodded in frantic agreement.

"What do you mean?" He replied in a cold tone, mentally congratulating himself for finally saying something right. The other looked him dead in the eye, pure terror apparent in theirs, and replied, "HE'S GONE INSANE, I SWEAR! Someone was joking around with someone else, and saying something about you, and I don't know if I should be telling you this, but Eren stabbed him in the hand with a fork!" The soldier's voice was low and menacing, though, it seemed that he was simply trying his best not to yell in his Corporal's ear. 

Mainly to avoid a face full of boot. 

Eren didn't even flinch. Though he REEEEALLY wanted to. "Tch." He pulled away immediately and made his way down the hallway. 

Once he entered the dining room, he noted that everyone was on one side of the room, and only two figures on the other. He stared at himself--currently Levi, though--as he dug the fork into the other's hand. "Don't you ever bad-mouth me--the Corporal again, am I clear?" Levi said, quickly catching himself from the mistake. 

The other, who's hand was bleeding from the deep wound--Eren couldn't even see the fork anymore, just a thin piece of metal--nodded before Levi harshly pulled out the fork. 

He set it on the other's plate, because he 'Didn't want to get the table filthy.' 

Just then, Levi caught the menacing glare, this one natural, on Eren's face, and his heart nearly stopped. 

Two things came across Levi's mind then. 'Do I always look that terrifying when I glare?' and 'Oh $hit.' 

~~~~~~~~~

Eren had pulled Levi out of the dining hall, and everyone relaxed the tiniest bit. 

The man Levi had stabbed went to Hanji; Levi would hear about this. 

Levi being Eren, and honestly, Eren didn't want to hear the whole story over again.

They were now in the hall, and Eren looked pissed. "Care to explain?" Eren hissed between his teeth, those three words like venom to the other's ears. 

Levi nearly flinched. It took him a moment to regain himself, because for Christ sake he's the Corporal, he's not gonna let a kid scare him. "The babbling idiot ran his mouth about things he shouldn't." Levi simply replied, his voice cold. 

"That is no excuse to stab them with a FORK!" Eren raised his voice at the taller of the two.

Levi looked down at him, replying with a natural apathetic expression, "It doesn't matter, I don't see why you're so upset."

"It does matter, because I don't want people to have a reason to call me a freak even more!" Eren's voice cracked, his expression faltering. It was a sad sight to see on Levi's face, and said male suddenly felt slightly guilty for putting Eren into a deeper level of harassment for who he was.

Plus 9000% bad after because he knew the kid was right. 

Levi had been around Eren when people referred to him as a freak, a monster, a thing. Though, Eren never let it show on his face, so Levi thought Eren wasn't effected. 

He couldn't have known that Eren was effected, and it hurt him every time someone referred to him as something other than human. 

All Eren ever wanted to be after he learned he was a titan shifter was human, no matter the lack if benefits.  
And it stung--it would be a wound that he couldn't heal, unlike many others. 

Levi cursed himself for thinking Eren would be okay, since he's always seen the world a different way, he supposed. It also took him some time to realize, Eren's only 15.

He's seen things a 10 year old should never have to. Not even an older male, not even someone the age Levi himself was. 

Eren has to live up to expectations that no one should ever be expected to live up to--to be a beacon of hope, a messiah. Eren's supposed to lead humanity to victory, to get rid of every living titan, and find out everything he can about them.

But for God's sake, he's only fifteen 

It's so hard for Levi to acknowledge it because if not for Eren's temper, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between 15 and 25.

The titan shifter wasn't toughened up like Levi, but he sure didn't let most emotions pass through his facial features when someone questioned his position in the human race. 

Then again, once or twice, Levi would see hurt flashing across Eren's face.

He'd realized that he was oblivious to his hurt this whole time, and could have done something about it.

Great, now Levi feels downright horrible. 

So the action he decided to take was against his morals, but necessary. He moved closer to Eren and took the shorter in his arms, bending his back a little to hug him because, 'I'm shorter than I'd like to be. I can't believe I just insulted myself.'

Though, this caught Eren by surprise, and it felt kind of awkward, until the shorter returned the hug. Once he did, Levi whispered two words that were rare when coming from himself. 

"I'm sorry." Eren stiffened slightly, but nodded. "It's okay, I'm sorry, I guess I got a little full of myself..." Eren replied softly, but Levi shook his head in denial.

"No, it's my fault. I was oblivious this whole time to the war you're fighting on the inside." 

Eren stared at him for a moment, but nodded. ".. Alright." He turned to leave, but had one more thing to do. "Hey, Levi?" 

Levi turned to him, a questioning look on his--once again, technically Eren's--features. "What is it?" 

And Eren got on his tip toes, leaving a kiss on his lips before bolting down the hallway. Levi stared down the hallway; he knew he should be mad, but he wasn't angry, for some reason. Instead, he maneuvered down the hallway with bright red cheeks. "Tch, brat.."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin is suspicious.

The next day, the two tried to play it off as if they hadn't done anything, failing miserably of course. The act had Eren blushing every time the two made eye contact, and to tell the truth, the most odd thing to see on Levi's face was a blush. 

They were preparing for a mission that day, for the same objective as usual when it came to Eren.

It was at this point that the two knew they were royally screwed unless they could work something out.

If they couldn't, Eren would be caught blindly giving orders, and strategy isn't really a plus for the 15 year old. 

Levi knew he could turn into a titan, for reasons already mentioned. Though, there is no guarantee that Levi would actually be able to take control of the titan; he didn't really think it would be an issue until he came across the subject, front and center. 

Hanji pointed it out to him that the ability to control the titan may not have stayed with Levi; that controlling the titan could be part of something mentally that Eren was finally getting the hang of until they switched.

Though, Levi had no plans to turn into a titan unless something catastrophic happened.

In this day and age, it's very possible.

Deciding to use it best as a last resort, he left it at that as he met up with Eren. Eren, who seemed to be unable to look his superior in the eye. 

"Alright, first thing's first. We're on the same squad as usual. If we can find short intervals between times of turning when a titan is spotted, then you can pull back to me, and I will give every order to you, of which you MUST repeat, word for word."

Eren nodded, trying desperately to maintain eye contact with his superior.

"If you miss even a single word, Jaeger, I will have your hide." Levi growled in a sinister tone, making the point clear to Eren. Said teenager gulped in fear from the cold tone of his own voice threatening him. 

Eren nodded. "Yes sir!" 

Levi nodded. "Right then. Don't screw this up, brat." With that, he turned on his heel to check for everything. 

As usual and expected, everything was in place. Levi gave a silent nod of approval. 

"Eren, hey, Eren!" Levi hadn't immediately responded to the voice, for he had forgotten who he was currently, due to his complete concentration on making sure the supplies were in check, and forgot that he was Eren for a while. 

He quickly turned around, clearing his throat before responding, "What is it?" 

It was Armin, Eren's bookworm-friend. One of the two clingy ones, Levi thought in disgust. He didn't like how the two acted like Eren was their heart and soul, though, Levi didn't have any clue why it really mattered to him. He shook off the thought as Armin began to speak.

"I heard you lost control of your temper the lunch room. What happened, Eren? It's not like you to go as far as stabbing someone through the hand with a fork." Levi stiffened. 

"I didn't appreciate the way they were speaking about the Corporal. It was disrespectful."

"Wow, Eren... I know you respect your superiors very much, but to go as far as that? What if someone got angry at you, or fought back?"

Levi didn't like the doubtful tone Armin was giving off. "I can handle myself, we trained together, right?" 

Armin gave an unconvinced look, but sighed. "I suppose, but be careful next time. You usually don't let your emotions out of hand."

Levi forced a smile, to reassure the blond. Mainly because Levi hadn't meant to completely forget who he was currently when he stabbed the particular man. "Trust me, Arl-Armin, I will make sure to keep my emotions in check next time. Alright?" 

As a bonus, he stuck his hand out to make peace with the blond. Armin took it, a convinced smile on his face. What Levi didn't see was the untrusting look in his sky blue eyes. 

"Alright, see you later, Eren. Don't get killed." Armin said, speaking his goodbyes.

Levi nodded before turning back to tend to the horses. The untrusting glances did not go unnoticed.

~Timeskip~

The Survey Corps. had just set off for the mission. All teams split up accordingly, Levi and Eren in the same one as usual. 

Though, Eren was in the front, and Levi was behind him. 

This is gonna be a loooong mission, Eren and Levi both thought grimly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Everything went as the two wanted it to in the beginning, surprisingly enough. 

Contrasting currently to what was previously expected, to a great extent at that.

Orders were expected, they turned, Eren pulled back, Levi gave the orders, which Eren repeated word for word for his own safety. 

Until they found an abberant at the last minute.

No body could have noticed, no body. Levi and Eren couldn't even hear the stomps of the giant, nor did anyone else. 

But it did.

Hanji had mentioned something about Titans being lighter than she'd originally thought when she'd joined the army for the sole purpose of killing titans in the beginning. She'd killed one, then kicked it's head, and that's when she noticed. 

Eren thinks that's kind of what was happening now.

It stormed in, right in front of the squad, and it seemed that time froze for them. It had been too into the formation to be seen by other squads, not to mention there were many trees surrounding them, so none of the flares were shot, for no one had seen.

But it was being seen by the wrong people, at the worst time possible. 

The titan was quick, but Eren made haste as it reached down for him. The currently-raven responded by using the 3DMG to grapple onto a tree; the group dispersed, therefore the abberant didn't have the chance to grab any of the team members.

Yet. 

Everyone quickly took the same actions as 'Levi' had, following the movements of the Corporal. 'Eren' came up to 'Levi' to speak to him.

Levi didn't panic, it was just extremely, extremely unexpected. Unexpected for all of them, in that matter. The titan was causing a mess of the ground, and some of the soldiers' horses nearly fell, though none became a victim.

Eren, on the other hand, looked extremely terrified, partially for the fact that there was an abberant on their tails as they dashed across the land, grappling onto whatever was convenient.

And then it dawned on him that even if he really wanted to, he couldn't turn into a titan, and if he got hurt, it wasn't gonna heal for quite some time.

Eren wasn't gonna get used to it anytime soon, but he would never let himself feel helpless. 

This only served to add fuel to the fire that was his determination.

Finally, they reached a clearing. Nothing was there but the stretch of land. 

Levi managed to tell Eren to stay as calm as possible and kill the single titan. It was just one. How hard could that be for anyone?

'If the brat can't handle the titan, then it will prove how wasteful those three years were--' the thought was cut off by the complete opposite of what was expected; Eren had managed to latch onto the back of the titan's neck, avoiding the quick movements of its  
arms, and its attempts to shake him off by quickly turning on his feet, and moving around. 

Eren managed to make it there unscathed, and sliced it with quick and well-planned precision. 

Levi's jaw nearly dropped, but he made sure to hold the apathetic expression he hid from everyone else, smiling--which he was NOT used to--in front of people that Eren was familiar with, and damn, he knew EVERYONE. 

That was ONE of the downsides of being the titan shifter.

Eren stood on the shoulder of the giant until it nearly hit the ground, jumping off with great agility and Levi's lack of expression, though the silver eyes beheld a hint of being proud of himself for living up and beyond Levi's expectations of him.

Sometimes, Levi had to remind himself that Eren graduated in the top 10. He wasn't some useless kid who made it through three years of hell on luck and luck only. He worked hard for where he got himself. 

But then Levi managed to convince himself that he has done much more than that in the past and that there wasn't really anything to admire Eren for, but he did feel kind of guilty for thinking so lowly of the boy. 

Not to mention he watched his own mother die brutally, and has to live with the fact that Eren was being used as a weapon to save humanity. People everywhere who don't know Eren obviously can't tell the difference between a human and a titan, and yet, they  
still call him a monster.

'The closest Eren will ever be to being a monster is through his undying will.' Levi mused to himself, before deciding he has to give the kid a little credit for being able to smile still. 

'Ugh, I'm turning into a big softie now.' He thought in disgust at himself for thinking that way. 

He turned his attention back to the situation. He looked around for their horses, hoping they wouldn't be too far away. Levi whistled for his horse, which charged after him across the clearing. Eren put his swords in the container and did the same.

And that's when the two saw it.

There were titans, charging in from all directions, and surrounding the group. There was no escape; they would have to fight them.

On flat land too. This was going to be difficult, but not impossible. 

Eren and Levi assisted each other in killing, of course. Eren would go at the ankles, or maybe the eyes, and occasionally the neck. Levi mainly handled the necks, but went to distract the titans from one time to another to make sure the group wouldn't think  
something was fishy. Levi letting Eren take most of the kills would be a sight to see, and they couldn't risk that.

Needless to say, the two made a good tag team.

Yet, the titans refused to stop coming. Everyone tried as much as they could, and Levi nearly lost it when he saw a titan come up from behind when Eren was distracting a titan, and the titan behind smacked him out of mid-air like a spider, knocking him out before he hit the ground. 

Levi looked at his tanned hand and considered it, knowing it WAS the last resort, but was very dangerous, considering that they hadn't even tried, for Levi could go on a rampage.

But Eren was hurt and could be possibly more, and the rest of the team seemed to suffer from injuries. Levi didn't and he realized how much he felt that it wasn't fair that he would leave battles unscathed until he was himself again. 

Therefore, he focused on one goal: To save Eren.

He bit his hand, blood gushing out immediately, and a flash of fiery-gold lightning pursued.


	11. Chapter 11

Eren lay on the ground, feeling horribly sore and in pain but even more so knowing his injuries wouldn't heal for weeks.

They were pretty bad, but he was simply angry at himself for not being careful enough, and hurting Levi's beautiful bod- 'Oh my God Eren I thought I said I would stop.' He mentally slapped himself.

The previously-brunette knew that blood was probably covering him, and that just wouldn't do.

Filthy.

He hadn't realized his eyes were closed until he was brought back to reality, bright, vivid colors replacing previous darkness. Slate-colored eyes were seemingly staring at nothing for a good moment of time, before Eren pulled himself out of a self-loathing reverie. The light didn't hit them properly; long black lashes obscured the light for a moment, before widening. That's when the light was seen--the light of day, the light of hope, but also the light of bewilderment.

As much as one could feel in his position.

'Oh.' The word rang out in his mind, reverberating like an echo as he realized what exactly was in front of him. It took him a moment to realize that there was a large object in front of him. It took him a moment to realize that the object was breathing, so wasn't an object. It took him a moment to realize that the 'not-object', as he dubbed it, was what his titan form looked like. It took him a moment to realize that he was seeing the titan, but was not occupying it.

The titan, Eren observed for the first time, was heavily muscled yet lean at the same time, capable of packing a punch, yet not weighing him down. Quick, in other words. Black hair reached the titan's shoulders, and the teeth, sharpened, went straight across at the front of the mouth, the back teeth at a different elevation. A sharpened chin and more prominent features were apparent. Its eyes... its eyes?

The thought that caused him to widen his eyes in confusion was the fact that the eyes of the titan weren't a phosphorescent green, as he'd been told by the people he'd ask about it.

Not even close to green, for that matter. The orbs were a glowing white, like a holy light, one could describe it as. Another might say they were..

'... Silver?' His eyes widened a fraction as it occurred to him that Levi was operating his titan form, and fully well at that.

Levi wasn't rampaging, so that was a good thing. He'd managed to get a grip on who he was, unlike Eren had when he became a titan for the second time to block the hole in the wall, and even went as far to attack Mikasa. Thank goodness Armin was there to pull him out of the state was in then.

Said human-occupying-the-titan gave a low roar, but it sounded different to the soldiers there. Eren could have sworn he heard a bit of the mellow, honey voice that was the Corporal's, and this made him extremely confused.

'#2 Unexpected happenings. Scratch that, #247.' He thought, tempted to let out a sigh, because he's seen a lot throughout his life, even he could deny that. He lay there, beaten and broken, staring at his slightly-altered titan form. 'Oh. Levi's angry. No doubt because of me,' He thought to himself, turning his attention to the soldiers who were fussing over him. 'When did they get there...?' He asked himself.

Nonetheless, he let them do what they want, watching with curious eyes at the titan once again.

Levi took down titan after titan, making sure his attacks were quick, strategic, and precise. Inhale, then exhale. Coming out as a cloud of steam, a good moment to rest before the titan charged forward once again, but Eren noticed something that no one else did.

There was the slight jolt, indicating that Levi was holding back. Eren couldn't tell anyone why for the life of him.

That's all he could think before everything went black for him.

\---

The raven stirred from unconsciousness, taking in his surroundings-laying in a cart, returning back to the wall, he gathered. He tried to move, and jumped when a voice rang clear.

"Don't you dare move, you stupid brat. You've injured yourself to a great extent, and I'm trying oh so very hard not to beat the living $hit out of you. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Levi lectured, face impassive but eyes screaming otherwise as they glared turquoise daggers at the other. Grumbling, Eren stared up to the sky.

"Is everyone in our squad okay?" He simply inquired instead of explaining anything.

"They're fine. Well?" Levi demanded, though, tone soft.

"There's nothing I need to explain. You saw everything."

He nearly slapped himself for talking back to a superior, but he wanted nothing more than to be left alone, instead of having to take crap from the Corporal. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you." Levi dug his heel into Eren's calf, where he was bruised. A pained gasp escaped the other's lips, and Levi would be lying if he said he wasn't slightly aroused by that.

Though, he was also ashamed because it was his own voice. Eren was thinking otherwise, though.

"You want to know what happened?" He sat up frantically, anger burning in silver eyes before he started again, ignoring the sudden pain he was met with.

"Excuse me, but what happened is that my superior is a complete and total moron, assuming I screwed up somewhere. I couldn't move out of the way in time, and I didn't realize the titan was behind me until it was too late, Levi." He seethed through his teeth, taking in the surprised expression he was receiving, and Levi opened his mouth to speak, but Eren cut him off. "I'm soooo sorry that I hurt your precious body, and if Hanji finds a cure before it heals, then you'll be either in pain or wait longer, but I'm sick of this. I'm sick of you expecting me to do everything perfect, to follow orders and commands like a trained puppy for God's sake, but listen here,  _princess,_ you're gonna find that people can't tell the difference from a direct order and a friendly suggestion. Suck it up, because that's life." He finished, laying back down and turning to lay on his side, despite the screaming pain he was met with. 

Eren could almost feel the pain of the daggers that were being glared at him right now, but he couldn't possibly care less. All he wanted was some rest, and wanted Levi to get over himself.

Immediately feeling guilty when he realized that what he said might not be true but never said anything beyond that.

"Tch." Levi turned his head away, looking off to the side somewhere, and the ride home became at least ten times more awkward than it would have been with a normal conversation.

Yet, Levi couldn't help but admit the fact that he demanded an explanation that was completely unnecessary, and angered the other male. 

'I was just a little worried, at all.' Levi thought bitterly to himself, denying that 'worried' might have been an understatement.


	12. Chapter 12

A certain previously-green-eyed boy opened silver orbs, finding that he couldn't quite make out any details of anything. He rubbed the blurry-ness from his eyes, blinking them tiredly. Eren ached everywhere. He even hurt really bad in a few places. He didn't remember when he fell asleep again, but he was glad that he did.

Considering what he'd said to the Corporal.

All in all, Eren felt like crap, emotionally and physically, and didn't feel like moving. He moaned a little when he tried to re-position himself, only causing a world of pain for him.

"Oi, brat." A familiar tone from an even more familiar voice, though the two weren't supposed to be together. "I know you're awake."

"Ugh. I feel like... Like..." Eren trailed off as he grimaced, trying to find the right words to describe his situation.

"Like you've been smacked out of the air like a fucking rag doll by a titan who was out to eat you?" Levi inquired, raising an eyebrow at the other male.

"Ugh. Are you serious?" He sat up as much as he could without hurting himself to the extreme, lifting a hand weakly to rub at a spot on his head that hurt more than others. He'd forgotten what had happened the day before, but it made plenty of sense. That is,   
seeing how much pain he was in.

"You're a moron." Levi stated flatly. Eren blinked at him. 

Eren sighed, crossing his arms as he tried to recall what had happened. Once he finally gathered himself, his eyes snapped open. "You.. The titan... I.." Eren stumbled over his words in a rush.

"Yeah, I controlled your titan form." Levi deadpanned. "It wasn't as hard as you make it seem, maybe you're not trying enough." That was a lie. It wasn't easy for Levi, but he had one goal in mind, therefore, he stuck to it.

In the end, he reached his goal.

He would never tell Eren, not on his life.

Eren gave an exasperated groan. "You stop that, it makes me feel much more worthless than I really am."

"Giving your current condition, you're nearly less than worthless." At this, Eren winced a little. Levi's tone was bitter. 

"Yeah, yeah. I screwed up, didn't I?"

"You nearly killed yourself. Then I would be stuck in your body forever." Levi didn't really mind that, but Eren probably didn't like the idea of staying as the Corporal.

It was quite a heavy burden, truly it was. (Reference, I think so.)

Levi never complained though.

"But I didn't die, that's a good thing." 

"Had I not stuck to last resort, you would have been."

"But I'm not." 

"You almost did."

"But I didn't, Levi. By the way, I'm sorry about what I said to you yesterday. I didn't mean it... I didn't mean to harm your body, either.

"Brat, you have to be more careful." It took Levi everything he had not to raise his voice at Eren's arguing antics, though ignoring the apology because really, that didn't matter to him. Eren's well being did, though, because Eren was his responsibility. 

"You were being stupid and weren't paying attention." He trailed on, bringing up the subject once more to drill it into Eren's mind to be careful. Just a little more than he usually was. 

"Levi, no one would have seen that titan from behind! He just.. came out of nowhere!"

"It was there even before you had jumped."

"It wasn't turned my way!"

"Yet it happened to smack you out of the air like a fly. Real smooth, dumbass." Levi countered, causing Eren's face to look a little downcast. 

"Was I at least a little useful?" Eren asked, though, in a whisper.

Levi stared at the other. He really couldn't lie about this one. "You were, for once, very useful."

Eren's silver eyes lit up, so much that Levi had to cover his eyes from the brightness. "Thank you, Lev- Ow!"

"You idiot, don't push yourself." Levi gave a harsh glare to the other. "Anyway, Hanji may have come up with something to switch us back. Though, I don't trust her with anything she does, so I'll wait until something is confirmed by Erwin."

Eren, still slightly smiling nodded at the other. "Alright, and you're right on this one. Hanji can be scary sometimes."

Levi snorted at his comment. "Sometimes? That woman is abnormal." 

Eren giggled, but cleared his throat, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "Ahem. By the way, you really didn't do bad at shifting into a titan. What was your main goal to do that caused you to turn?" Eren questioned the other, who slightly stiffened. This didn't go   
unnoticed by him.

"... That's for me to know, brat." He ruffled the other's hair, but was technically ruffling his own hair. Weird. 

Eren paused a little, then smirked. He then wiped his face of all expression, causing it to be near the state of apathy save for a little glare before replying, "Tch."

Levi narrowed his eyes at Eren's--impeccable, I might say--impression of him. He poked Eren's forehead harshly, causing the other's face to contort into an expression of confusion and slight pain. "Don't do that."

"Why not?" Eren pouted.

"Because that's my thing." Levi responded, finding his pout a little cute--maybe because it was his own face--and letting a ghost of a smile cross his lips.

"Alright, alright." Eren threw his hands up, admitting defeat with a smile on his lips.

"Great, now I have to go do paperwork, since you don't have half a brain to do anything."

Eren merely laughed at the other's bluntness. "Okay, have fun." To that, he received a smack upside his head.

"... Do you forgive me?" The question came up when Levi had stood up. 

"Maybe." Was all he gave, but the look in his eyes didn't go unnoticed. Eren smiled brightly.

"Bye Levi."

Levi walked to the door, stopping to turn to face the other. "Oh, by the way, Eren."

"Yeah?"

"If you ever come close to dying like that again, I will not hesitate to rip your nose off of your face when we switch back and throw it to a titan."

"It will just grow back." He shrugged.

"I will end you." He threw back with a glare.

"Right." Eren shivered. "Why does it matter, though?" He immediately regret asking this as he receives a killer glare in response. "N-never mind, see you later, Levi." 

Levi stared at the other a little longer, before exiting without another word. Once he shut the door, he mumbled to himself, "Because you're too important to me to lose."

Eren could have sworn he heard someone say something, but brushed it off.


	13. Chapter 13

It had been a few days since then. Every day, Levi came in to help tend to Eren, seeing as the kid would probably do the same exact thing for him if Levi was in his own body.

Eren was just naturally that way; a kind-hearted soul, truly. Yet headstrong at the same time.

Though, Eren also seemed to complain at least once or twice a day about something. And for some reason, it never bothered Levi like it should have. Which was surprising, because had it been someone else, they would have been sent off with a boot to the face and a strict, profanity-filled speech about how, 'That's the way things are. Deal with it.'

The two, not so surprisingly--due to recent events of worry and fear of being found out--forgot about that one, mere, little peck that was left. 

Dangerous, truly it was.

Or at least, it appeared the two forgot about it.

The little incident kind of held on, clinging to the back of their minds, and even though the thought didn't lash out to give them a painful reminder and confusion of the other's feelings, (Eren's toward Levi since he didn't react harshly, and Levi's toward Eren for   
doing it and acting like nothing ever happened in the first place.)

Levi probably played it off as, 'temporary infatuation.' Nonetheless, he didn't feel like he had any right to make a move on the other, since he was older.

Oh God, was he older.

It became slightly awkward, but then again, it really wasn't a tendency for the two to think about it too much.

That being said, Levi came in a couple of days after the accident. 

On one's side it was an accident, he supposed. 

He rapped lightly on the wooden door, grimacing as it loudly creaked. Making a mental note to have someone fix that later, grateful that it wasn't during the resting hours, the taller male-- he absolutely reveled in it--stepped inside to check on the other.

Eren's... well, Levi's, but we get the drill. Eren's eyes lit up at the entrance of Levi.

"Hello, sir." Eren greeted formally.

Levi raised an eyebrow at this. "Since when have you started addressing me formally? Stop that, it's annoying and it makes me sound old."

Eren chuckled at Levi's complaints. "That's not what you said when you demanded to be addressed properly by everyone else. Besides, aren't you pretty old, Levi?" For that comment, he was on the receiving end of a harsh glare from the other. To which, he quieted down considerably. 

Levi held his harsh glare for a moment longer, before taking a deep breath, and exhaling audibly. Eren jumped at this unusual behavior. 

"What's the matter, Co-Levi?" Eren questioned him, to which he merely responded, "Nothing."

And Eren didn't dare question any further. He hurt all over enough as it was.

Levi sat by Eren's bed, and spoke again. "You need to bathe." He grimaced, as if pointedly smelled something gross, though, he never truly did.

Eren shrugged. "Fine." He pulled back the covers, moving his legs to the side of the bed. He still wasn't in any condition to move on his own, so Levi came over, bending his knees a little to get to the other's height, throwing an arm around his shoulder as they made their way to the bathing room.

Levi helped Eren take off his night clothes, and ease into a tub of hot-but-not-scalding water. It was when Levi was in the middle of washing Eren's hair that he asked, "Hey, Eren. Why do you seem so comfortable about this? I expected you to at least put up a fight and say, 'Don't smother me, I can do it myself,' or something stupid and childish like that."

Eren tilted his head to the side just a tiny bit, as if to acknowledge him before replying. "Because it's your body, therefore, you've seen it a million times. There's nothing really to be self-conscious about when the person the body belongs to sees it."

"Hm." Levi hummed. He hadn't really thought about it that way. "But what if even I'm not comfortable with it?" 

"Well, for starters," Eren began without a moment of hesitation, "you shouldn't be uncomfortable with who you are." 

Levi stopped washing for a moment, but began again. It seemed Eren had become comfortable about speaking around him. "Oh?" was all he gave in response.

"Yeah. It's you. It's who you are. There's nothing you can really do to change it, but love who you are instead. If you hate yourself for anything, then you're gonna feel like everyone's against you. Though, if you ignore everything that is said, and love yourself,   
you'll feel just the tiniest bit of satisfaction. Your appearance is part of you, and it's something that also makes you you. It's not something you can simply throw away, but something you need to accept. Ahem." Eren cleared his throat, his neck and ears flushed. 

This was visible to Levi, and he loved it, but he was mostly stunned by the little speech Eren had given.

".. That was deep, Eren."

"Shut up," Eren replied, embarrassed for speaking so long, not to mention releasing all the thoughts he had toward the subject.

"It's not a bad thing, brat." Levi responded in a low tone, but not laced with anything negative toward the other male. Levi rinsed his hair and picked up a washcloth to wash the other with. 

"Why do you think so?" Eren asked him. Levi thought for a moment, before responding.

"Because it's nice when you decide to open up to me instead of getting scared and acting like I'm a titan that's about to tear you from limb to limb." Levi said flatly.

"You can act like it sometimes, Si-Levi." Eren chuckled, ignoring his second screw up. Levi did as well.

"Tch." Was all Levi could give, for he couldn't deny it. 'When did I become to this brat?' He thought to himself, but brushed it off. It's not like he didn't like it when Eren opened up to him, and spoke his thoughts.

Even when he first met Eren, he found that the other's desires and thoughts to mainly kill titans was a lovely thing. 

"Levi, do you thi- PFFTLFLFPTLF-" Eren began, but was cut off when Levi dumped a bucket of soapy water over the boy's head. Eren speaking had caught him off guard, so he simply stared at Eren, who sat in the water, unresponsive. 

Everything was silent, before Eren had turned around, and flashed a look scarier than what Levi could ever give, whether he was in his own body or not.

Levi didn't falter though. He stared blankly right back, uttering a low and apathetic, "Oops."

They stared a little longer, and Eren, ever so slowly...

... Splashed water all over Levi. 

Levi's gaze turned to ice, a gaze that was capable of causing Medusa herself to freeze in fear. 

That's when all hell broke loose.

-Timeskip-

Hanji skipped into the room, looking for Levi and Eren to speak to them. 

"Ow!" She heard from the bathroom, and like most others would, she made her way to the room.

She was greeted by an amazing sight, some could say.

Levi, who was in Eren's body, was soaking wet, and a murderous look on his features. Eren was in the bathtub, being pinned down by an angry Levi. He had the expression which was a cross between anger and pain. 

Hanji stared, and the two noticed her. They wiped all expression off of their faces, staring at her blankly. 

She burst out laughing at the two, and Levi got off of Eren, yelling for the first time in a long time, "It's not how it looks, stop assuming things, shitty four-eyes!" he yelled, going after her.

Once they were out of the room, Eren placed a hand on his injured ribs, and took a few breaths to calm himself. 

He could still faintly hear Levi yelling at Hanji, who was laughing in turn. Eren could make out the two pairs of feet hitting the floor, one fleeing from the other as Levi chased her in sopping wet clothing.

'This is gonna be a very interesting day,' Eren mused to himself, a small smile on his face.


End file.
